The Secret of the Natsuin Island
by Arctic0Kitten
Summary: There is an Island that visiters like to call Natsuin Island because of the population of seals that thrive there... However there is a strange legend on that island that has never been figured out. But will Kakashi be the one to figure it out or will..
1. Chapter 1

_**The Secret of the **__Natsuin Island_

_**Kitten:**__ So this idea came to me while I was kayaking on a lake. The waves rocking me, the beautiful scenary around me... Mmmmh Lovely! It began as a daydream, which I will now gladly write and share! So please enjoy_

_**Warning:**__ There is Smex in the later chapters. But for three chaps or so, there will be none! Maybe a bit of fluff here and there… But nothing more until chapter 4 I do believe. So leave PLENTY of comments, they boost my muse and make the smex EVEN hotter! -_purrs_-_

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_**Intro**_

_The Spotting of the Pod_

Jiraiya, a 50 year old sailor, ran head long into an unexpected storm, nearly 20 years ago. The mixture of the waves, the rain and the lightning caused the aging sailor to capsize and become shipwrecked upon an unknown island. With no way to contact anyone, Jiraiya was stranded and practically left for dead. However, the 50 year old was a stubborn and wouldn't give his life away so easily.

For three days, he went through what was left of his ship, finding bits and pieces of things he could still use.

He found:

A Swiss army knife

Three bags of untouched food

A ripped flag

Some jewels

An old compuse

A map of where he was going, slightly damp

And a strange whistle

For those three days while scavenging through his belongings, he began to look over the island, which turned out to be pretty big and beautiful. It was untouched by anyone other than him, and even if he had lost almost everything he felt like he had gained an all new treasure. In the middle of the island as far as his eye could see, there was a waterfall, which lead into a small deep pool that had hidden tunnels underneath it. The tunnels lead to the sea and the waterfall was fresh water that was deeply imbedded within the island. With the mix of salt and fresh water it was a perfect spot for drinking and bathing water.

It was here where Jiraiya found another treasure. But in the form of an animal.

Jiraiya was hiking to the waterfall, where he had never been before even in his four days stay he had never trekked to the waterfall. However today he was because he needed not only water for himself but a bath as well.

Walking through the thick underbrush of the island he came upon several different species of birds, bugs and plants. He even spotted smaller species of deer, some larger sized mice… What looked like mice anyway. As he hiked the area and came closer and closer to the waterfall, he suddenly heard splashing and clicking. The sound was very familiar and Jiraiya could tell that the sound was coming from a pod of dolphins. However, Jiraiya could not understand why dolphins would be swimming in mixed water.

Speeding up, the aging sailor finally came into the small clearing of the waterfall. Where he spotted the pod of dolphin instantly, and they were definitely not made out for mixed water. They were sea dolphins and they belonged in the sea not in a pool like this. Yet what caught Jiraiya's actual attention was a small figure that was laying upon the bank of the pool.

It was quiet small, looked like a lump of mud but a closer look exposed the fur that covered its body. It was two feet long, to nose to tail and barely a foot around. Dark velvety short fur covered the small bundle. And at first, Jiraiya thought it may have been a strangely colored piglet from the female boar he had seen earlier. But as he drew closer, he could tell it was not a boar piglet at all, but a baby seal.

Jiraiya knelt down to look over the young pup. It couldn't be more than three weeks old at most. By the looks of it, it had no parents. However, Jiraiya had to rethink his hypothesis about not having a family for when he went to pick the motionless pup, the dolphins in the pool began to make a ruckus and splash about with a panic. Looking to the dolphins Jiraiya was amazed at their behavior. In all his life being on the water he had never seen dolphins take in a baby seal before. With a smile Jiraiya nodded to the dolphins and looked at the pup once more before taking his make shift pack off his back and plopping it down next to the pup who did not stir.

Jiraiya was nervous for the pup, he seemed extremely dry, and there was a wound on the bridge of its nose. Along with a couple of scrapes and deep cuts scattered upon his body. Jiraiya concluded that when the storm hit, the pod and the pup had been sucked into the underground tunnels that were under the island and ended up in the pool, where the pup was pushed to shore either by his adopted family or by the harsh waves. So they were stranded just like Jiraiya was. Yet that didn't explain why the pod hadn't left… But looking at how worried their sounds were Jiraiya knew they wouldn't dare leave a family member behind… Also the pool seemed to be rising a bit.

And with that, a sudden rotting smell came to the 50 year olds nose. He looked about and noticed another body, yet it was floating partly in the water by the waterfall itself. One of the pod members had died and was rotting away in the water. Disgusted by the rotting corps, Jiraiya looked at the pod again and noticed something else. They all looked sick. With the mixture of the water, their worry and the corps, the family had become extremely sick. Like their child who now was laying helplessly on shore with no way to survive.

Jiraiya made a plan after that day. He would save the pods life, and the pups as well. But first he would have to get rid of the corps's body and see why the water was rising like it was. Probably because the tunnels may have been blocked.

--- --- ---

Three weeks had passed since the discovery of the pup and the pod that were trapped. He had taken the pup to his camp site which caused some commotion with the family of dolphins. They did not like the fact that they could not see their baby anymore, but every day, Jiraiya would carry the pup back and forth to the pool. By the first week, Jiraiya had successfully got rid of the rotting body of the dolphin yet he could not enter the pool until another week went by because of the smell and how the water was getting.

And in the first week of having the pup with him, Jiraiya noticed a lot of little things that were different about the seal pup, the first thing he found out about the pup was, he was a male. Also he understood Jiraiya completely. Every word and motion as though he was human himself. Little did Jiraiya know that he would have more unexpected discoveries from the pup as time wore on.

The second week was when Jiraiya finally was able to enter the water of the pool. And just like what he had thought. The tunnels had been blocked. It took several days to unplug all of them. And even after he unplugged them all, he had to figure out how to get the dolphins to re-enter the tunnels to go back home. It took another week for Jiraiya to come up with a plan to coax the frightened dolphins through the tunnels, and to his suprice it wasn't his idea… But the pups. By the last day of the second week, the pup had entered the water again for the first time in nearly two weeks. Jiraiya had tried everything… from putting fresh fish in the water, to bubbles and even by force but nothing worked. But in the end the little pup did it by himself. He was also the one to tell Jiraiya what the strange whistle he had found was good for. The dolphins seemed to react to it every time the old man used it.

--- --- ---

Nearly a year had passed since the storm had shipwrecked Jiraiya, and hurtled a pod of dolphins into a death trap. Sad to say some of the dolphins never made it through after returning to the sea. Half the pod is gone, yet they are strong and Jiraiya watches them every morning riding the waves as the sun rises bleaching the sky with color.

Each day Jiraiya would take three hours out of his personal life just to watch his new found family play with the waves. He was especially fawned of the pup who he called Iruka. For three years he would watch them. It had been four and a half years since they found each other, but one day everything changed.

Jiraiya went out like normal, to watch Iruka's pod play in the sun's colored water. However when he went to the beach and sat down and looked out over the sunrise… There were no big pods of dolphins playing. Just the crashing waves and the bright blinding light of the sun, with its magical lights. Jiraiya was devastated. He let it slip once telling himself they would be there the next day… But the next day came and no sign of the family. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and for three more years, Jiraiya did not see them.

Then, one day, Jiraiya was on the cliff looking over the sea. The sun was high in the sky. The sea's breeze was cool and the heat was bearable when he spotted a group of dots on the horizon. He had stepped forward to give it another good look and to his astonishment he could make out the forms of a pod. He had finally spotted the pod. Iruka would be there, hopefully.

He had charged through the undergrowth of the island and rushed to the beach where he was greeted with dolphin calls and a seal yelp. And from the waves they came riding in, the dolphins staying back but the seal, charging forward, going passed the waves onto the beach and right to Jiraiya, yet while on the last wave and the sandy beach, a transformation accured with Iruak. Instead of a seal, he was a seven and a half year old little boy!

"**PAPA!****"** The little boy cried flinging himself into the shocked legs of Jiraiya who stumbled back and fell onto his back in the moist sand. The naked boy was naturally tanned, dark brown hair was now to the middle of his back and at first Jiraiya didn't do anything he couldn't believe that this boy was the seal he had saved. But one look at the boys face changed everything. There, on the face of the seven year old was the same scare and those large brown eyes stared back at him. He was the seal he had saved several years ago! Jiraiya smiled back and laughed.

"**Ah my boy! You finally returned!"** They both embraced.

And laying on the beach was a skin, a skin of a seal that belonged to Iruka.

And that is how the secret of the **Natsuin Island began and only the dolphins that surfed the waves and **Jiraiya knew the truth! Until

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**Kitten:** _Okay so it's a little choppy I do believe… I hope it makes you curious about the next chapters! So please read, I will be making the chaps longer and more detailed, its been awhile since I wrote and posted anything!_

_Japanese Word: **Natsuin **_

_Meaning: **Seal**_

_**Next Chapter: **__The Secret Expands _


	2. The Secret Expands Chap: 1

_**The Secret of the **__Natsuin Island_

_**Kitten: **__So I reread my story and it's a bit choppy. I hope people like it enough to read on and explore the island of Natsuin! -_purrs_- please leave me reviews it will REALLY help me! –_happy kitty face_-_

_**Warning:**__ Smex will come into the chapters a little later. The main warning in this chapter is, there is a cliffy! ^^_

_**Pairing in this chap: **__ None except for Kakashi to finally meet Iruka, in seal form - Shino Getting a glimpse of Kiba and getting close to him._

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_**Chapter 1**_

_The Secret Expands _

It had been twenty years since the shipwreck, twenty years of exploring the island that Jiraiya now called Natsuin Island. Because right after Iruka had returned, more and more seals began to migrate to the island and before Jiraiya could even figure everything out he was surrounded by the creatures. But he didn't care for the migrating seals, they were all the same. But the one's who decided to stay, were the ones he was extremely interested in. The ones that stayed went through a transformation that baffled and awed the now 70 year old, still. He had seen it countless times and he couldn't figure what caused it or anything, until one day he saw a baby seal snacking upon a fruit he hadn't been able to eat.

It was an oddly shaped fruit, hard shell, shaped like a peach slightly or a heart. It had three main colors on it, red, green, and different shades of purple. It hanged upon the trees in bundles and smelt like pineapple. Yet whenever Jiraiya tried the fruit he couldn't crack the shell that held it together. However he found out that at one part of the day, the fruit would crack the shell itself and expose the soft juicy flesh that was edible, but it took around ten years to figure that out and it was all because of that pup.

So, after the pup had eaten the fleshy fruit, its mother went ballistic and snapped and cried out at the pup until the pup fled. Jiraiya, concerned by how the mother had treated her own baby, went after the pup, only to find an actual human baby a half a mile away from where the pup had run off too. The baby was wrapped up in a seal's pelt. Jiraiya remembered the time when he and Iruka had been reunited and how he had shed his seal pelt and became a human child. After that day, Jiraiya monitored what the seals ate and how much they ate, for it seemed if a seal pup ate three of those fruits it became a human, if a full grown seal ate six of those fruits they became human. Yet there was something that baffled the old man… What if a human ate the fruit? Would he or she become a seal?

Jiraiya tested out that theory and found that the fruit did nothing… Until he began to feel sick every month for a week. He couldn't understand why it was happening to him. He watched many of the seals devour the fruit but found out another piece of information that he didn't realize until now. Only female seals were eating the fruit… After eating the fruit for the 5th time, Jiraiya had begun to actually crave the fruit. It was so strange, it tasted sweeter and was more appetizing then normal every time he ate it. Yet every month, once a week, he would become sick and would be worried over by Iruka who was nearly twenty.

For the past ten years after Iruka turned ten, Jiraiya had started to build up the place. Making it look like a place that humans would love to live for awhile, a getaway of sorts. He hadn't messed with any of the water or tunnels that twisted and turned under the island. He made sure that the wood was wood that had fallen from the trees around the area not imported. But the only thing he did import was the bricks that went nicely with the scenery strange enough. Some of the buildings were on stilts and some were grounded and the only reason why some of the houses were built on stilts was because those were the places where the water sometimes got pretty high or that the seals would bask or go to get shade.

The place had turned into a tropical paradise. And at first it seemed all well. Business was pleasant people enjoyed getting pictures of the animals. But then tragedy struck. A young boy maybe eight or nine years old was in the waterfall's pool when the tunnels began to suck in water, rapidly! The boy was yanked down under the water, into a tunnel. The godfather was on his feet yelling about his god-son going under and for someone to save him. Jiraiya was on the scene faster than a 70 year old should move. He watched helplessly as the normally calm pool became a whirlpool.

"**Can't you do something!?"** snapped an angry god-father. Jiraiya looked to and fro from the god-father to the whirlpool. He shifted nervously.

"**I…I…"** stuttered Jiraiya slightly not knowing what to do.

"**WELL!?"** growled the god-father again. But before Jiraiya or the god-father could do anymore there was a loud barking sound coming from the cliff looking over the waterfall. Jiraiya and the god-father looked up, with several other worried and frightened bystanders.

On the cliff was a group of native seals, they were looking over the whirlpool. Jiraiya gasped as he recognized the seal in the front of the group on the cliff's edge. And as he realized what the seal was going to do it was too late and as he yelled out to him, the seal launched himself off the cliff and nosedived into the swirling pool.

"**IRUKA!"** the old man screamed as he saw the seal disappear into the depth. He stood there stone cold to the stop with fear and shock that Iruka had done something so dangerous yet it wasn't unlike him. Iruka had done the same type of thing with a seal pup who had been trapped by a poacher's trap.

He looked at the water with a strange expression in his eyes. While he stared at the water the god-father was trying to get his attention.

"**What the hell is going on!?"** he stated pissed to no end. **"Will that seal be able to save my god-son?"** and for a moment Jiraiya did not speak, he looked over at the protective god-father. A ghost of a smile slipped upon the old man's face.

"**Iruka is more than cappble of saving your god-son."** He stated. **"He's in good hands." **

--- --- ---

Beneath the strong current, inside the tunnels Iruka was tossed and twisted in ways that no animal or human should be. But because of his flexibility, he was able to get out of the many painful positions he was forced into.

Iruka fought against the current, using the power of the current to guide him through the tunnels that the young boy had been sucked into. He was body slammed into rock formations and cut by hanging sharp rocks that hanged from the ceiling of the tunnels. He was losing air and there wasn't much time before the boy too would lose air, and it wasn't known if the boy was still alive. Yet Iruka would bring him out dead or alive! No human, especially a child, should die like this and even if they did die like this, they should be left.

Iruka struggled, he was getting practically nowhere and minute by minute the child's life was dwindling away. At this thought Iruka gritted his teeth and pushed forward. He let out a bark that released all of the air in his lungs. He surged forward and as he passed another tunnel, he was suddenly sucked into a hidden tunnel that seemed to be new. He was again tossed like a ragdoll by the force. And as he tossed and turned he spotted a lifeless form in front of him. It was far away from him but Iruka knew it was the boy, and knowing he was so close gave him new courage. He once again used his body to guide himself towards the boy. Smacking into a wall of rock with a sickening crack, Iruka squeezed his eyes shut in pain but did not stop swimming against the pull of the water. Inch by inch he drew ever closer to his target. He was so close and with a sudden gush of water pushing him forward he was upon the boy faster than he could think. He had a face full of human flesh. He didn't want to hurt the boy, but he had no other choice. Opening his mouth he clamped down upon the boy's left shoulder. As he tried his hardest to push away from the rushing water, another force grabbed a hold of him.

A freshwater/salt water snake only known to those parts of the tunnels had noticed the struggle Iruka was having. It had no intention of helping but of drowning the struggling seal and devour not only the seal, which the snake was big enough to do so, but it was also going to devour the boy. Which would cause it to become man-eating. Iruka could barely breath, he needed air. He could feel the painful burning in his chest from the lack of oxygen. If he went any longer in the tunnels without air he would go unconscious or die. But know there was another threat on his hands, that Iruka needed to deal with. The huge snake had successfully wrap its massive body around them, it opened its mouth right at Iruak's face, exposing large poison filled fangs that were mere centimeters away from Iruka's face. Iruka's eyes were as wide as they could go, he opened his mouth and could no longer release anymore air from his lungs.

As the massive snake went to bite down upon Iruka's face, luck struck and the three of them were sent head long into a rock tower. The tunnel snake was nearly ripped from the two and pulled away but it was strong and it worked itself back around Iruka and the boy's body. Iruka struggled and was forced to release the boy as he took the chance to bite down upon the snakes body. The snake yanked and tugged as he felt the seal's powerful jaw clamp down upon his body. It hissed and squeezed Iruka, which caused the poor seal to release the snake, but he had already left a mark and it bled. The snake hissed, eyes narrowing at the seal before he lurched forward and clamped down upon the boy's other shoulder. Fangs sank part way before the snake wrenched back and fought with the seal once more. Iruka got a hold of the tail of the snake and tugged at it enough for it to release the boy. While the snake was sinking his teeth down upon the boy's flesh, Iruka had spotted a way out of the tunnels. Yet there would be consequences for doing so. But Iruka had no choice anymore. Iruka guided the three of them towards the light. And in moments the three of them were falling from a tall waterfall that lead to the sea… or a swallower part of the sea. The snake unraveled around the seal and the boy as it fell, Iruka tried his hardest to keep sensuousness but he was slowly losing the battle. The little boy was only inches away from now as they fell.

When they finally hit the water, the snake withered and let out a low hiss before turning in its defeat and swimming away slowly as though it had broken something. Iruka turned in the water a bit before pushing his head up above the water's surface and seeing the body floating beside him. Using the last bit of energy to keep going, Iruka swam the little distance there was between him and the child, grabbed a hold of his shoulder again and swam weakly towards a small sandy patch that suddenly appeared. He nudged the boy forward only for him to slip half way back into the water. Iruka struggled but finally was able to get the boy securely upon the small patch of sand before his body finally gave out and he lay in the shallow water next to the boy, motionless.

--- --- ---

As the battle under the tunnels had proceeded, Jiraiya had guided the agitated and worried god-father to the place that Iruka and the god-son should come out of. Jiraiya came upon the cliff that looked over the sea he silently cursed.

"**Shit…"**

The god-father looked at Jiraiya with more agitation then before.

"**What now?"**

"**The island is becoming bigger…"** he stated as though he knew it would.

"**What?"**

Jiraiya didn't say anything, but he pointed towards the shallowing water farther out from the island.

"**That was deeper before."**

The god-father and Jiraiya sat for a few moments before the familiar clicking sound was suddenly going off in the ocean. Jiraiya and the god-father stood and the god-father looked out of the sea with his only visible eye.

"**Are…are those…."**

"**Oh Iruka…"** muttered Jiraiya under his breath as he noticed a pod of dolphins swimming towards two lumps laying in the water. He just saw the tip of the tail of the tunnel snake and a sinking feeling clenched him. He looked at the god-father and spoke very firmly. **"I want you to listen to me, VERY clearly. No arguing."** He began. **"I want you to head to the hospital grab Sakura. Tell her that a Tdouble5, and a G23R has accrued. She will know what has happened."** When Jiraiya saw the beginning of the god-father's covered mouth begin to open to argu, he only glared. **"You want your god-son alive don't you, don't give me any lip! Now move!" **he snapped at the god-father and without letting him finish or say anything, Jiraiya was heading towards a path that would lead him down to the part of the island that Iruka and the god-son were.

Splashing through the shallow water, Jiraiya stopped when he got to the boy. He desperately wanted to check on the seal before the boy but he knew the god-father wouldn't be happy if he did that. So he knelt down beside the boy and turned him over, checking both shoulders and noticeing that the boy had been knocked about so much that he was breathing. But it wasn't much of a breath and Jiraiya would have missed it if it wasn't for the fact that he could feel his breath when he touched the boy. Checking him closer, he took note that the boy had a fractured wrist, a bad starting of a bruise on his back and a couple of cuts here and there on his face and body and one bad gash, other then the two bite marks, on his hip. Other than that he was fine.

Jiraiya quickly turned to the seal who lay, bleeding beside the boy. His banged up body showed his struggle in the tunnels and with the snake. Jiraiya frowned and felt his heart tighten when he saw the swelling scraped on Iruka's cheek. The snake had successfully had got Iruka with one of his fangs even if it was just a little scrape. The two of them were in deep water at this moment if there was no assistance soon. Jiraiya reached out and touched the swelling, bleeding body of his adopted son. He could feel the tears of worry whel up in his eyes but he pushed them back when a cry came from the island.

"**Jiraiya-sama!"** a female voice called out, and fallowed it, the sound of splashing footsteps in the water coming towards them. Then a pink haired woman came splashing in beside him, on her knees she was at the boy first.

"**He seems to be fine, for now, Sakura. A tunnel snake and Iruka's bite needs to be taken care of, give him a wrap for his injuries and take him to the hospital after you've done what you can. Give him 2B serum. Iruka's saliva should be pausing the effect of the tunnel snakes poison." **Jiraiya rambled as he stared at the seal. **"He's our main concern at the moment."** Sakura blinked and turned her jade eyes towards Jiraiya. Even if he had said it, didn't mean he meant it.

"**I understand."** She whispered, worriedly. She knew that Jiraiya and the seal he called Iruka were close, and seeing Iruka like this and not being able to help him first was killing Jiraiya inside, she could see that.

Sakura turned to look at the team of hospital workers splashing their way towards them. Staring one down the hospital worker nodded and went to Jiraiya's side instead of the child's.

"**Jiraiya-sama, we won't let him go."** Stated the hospital worker when he had tried to pick Iruka up with the aid of another worker, which was kinda difficult, Iruka was a LARGE seal. When they had tried to take Iruka away, a firm strong wrinkled hand grabbed a hold of one of their hospital jackets. **"We'll take good care of him… We know someone who can help." **Jiraiya stared at the man before releasing his coat. And as the two men carried off Iruka and the boy was carried off by Sakura, Jiraiya stood there for a moment watching everyone walk away. He then turned his attention back to the pod who were still clicking and clacking their worries. A soft smile spread across his face.

"**Don't worry, he'll be fine."** He stated but not truly believing himself. He turned around and saw the head of the tunnel snake. It looked dead, floating on the top of the water like that, but Jiraiya knew better then to fall for that trick. The snake was watching him, it was slightly creepy with those purple lines coming from his eyes and those black spikes sticking up on top of his body. A white snake that huge, in all his years living here he had never noticed it. He had seen that type of snake before yet not an albino snake like this one. He frowned turning his wooden, hand carved, sandals splashing in the water.

--- --- ---

Not even an hour had passed since Iruka and the god-son, who was finally given a name, Sasuke Uchiha, had been taken to the hospital and Jiraiya was already unpleased. He had figured that the island was changing but he didn't think it would happen so abruptly and that way. He sat alone, watching the pod play in deeper waters. 30 minutes ago the place where Iruka and Sasuke had been had been covered in a shallow layer of water, but now… It was nearly dry sand-bed expect for the pit that Iruka had pushed them over into. Soon though the scenery would be changed, that sandy bed will be swamp land. Jiraiya just knew it, he could tell the area wanted to make a wetland.

For another 30 minutes, Jiraiya sat alone, watching the sunset. Without saying a word he suddenly got to his feet, slipped off his sandals and pulled off his shirt exposing the surprisingly muscular chest and arms that were hidden under the baggy long sleeved shirt. He then proceeded to strip down to his boxers that were red with green frogs on them. For a 70 year old, he was ripped and with his long white hair that stopped at the back of his knees it made him look younger somehow. But some people say it was because of two major things in his life. He was a sailor and he was shipwrecked upon the island, so it made him buff. However the removal of his shirt exposed a strange scar, it was like a whole with cracks that ran across his entire chest and apart of his stomach.

The scar he had gotten from fighting with the same pup Iruka had saved from poachers. The seal pup was very frightened and his survivor's instinct was in full bloom. Which caused Jiraiya to have to struggle with the wounded animal. Which led to the scar on his chest.

With only his boxers, Jiraiya walked down the slope to the newly forming land and slipped into the water with the dolphins that swam around him excitedly. He hadn't done this in forever and it felt good to be around his adopted family. However the good feeling only lasted for a moment before the emptiness returned. Iruka was always around when he went swimming. But now he wasn't and it bothered him the greatest. He wasn't even in the water for twenty minutes when a hospital worker came to get him.

"**Jiraiya-sama, we found the woman who would help Iruka… She's already looked over him, bandaged him up and everything. We suggested that she waits in your home, so that you could talk to her."** The hospital worker stood there until Jiraiya looked over at him.

"**Thank you."** He stated as he slipped back under the water where the dolphins circled him, giving off those clicking and clacking noises. He spent five more minutes swimming with his adopted family before finally getting out. **"Sorry, play time will have to be cut short for today."** The disappointed whines, trilling, and sad looks of the pod made Jiraiya smile.

--- --- ---

Jiraiya was escorted to his home, even though he knew where everything was, the doctor insisted that he go with him. So know Jiraiya was walking through the door to his home and going towards his Japanese styled living room, where he could see someone's shadow on the sliding door. Yet something stopped Jiraiya from going any closer. He looked up at the doctor.

"**I want to see Iruka first."** He stated, firmly. The doctor seemed to stare at him for a moment.

"**I'm sorry Jiraiya-sama, but-"**

"**No…"** he cut in, with an even sterner voice. **"I have yet to lay eyes on the seal that saved Sasuke. He's very important to me and I won't be going anywhere else until I see him." **He said looking around. He could tell that the men had brought Iruka here. And what gave it away was the smell of the perfume that was hanging in the air. He began to walk towards the back of his house where there was an inside patio where the seals could come from the little pond that had an underground tunnel that was connected to the waterfall. But before Jiraiya could continue the doctor went into his hall blocking the way. "Move aside." He hissed dangerously. The doctor cringed but held his ground.

"**Jiraiya-sama, please!"**

"**I said move you-"**

"**Lady ****Tsunade, has told me she will need to speak to you…****"** the doctor stated as he rose his hands up in a defensive manner one that said he was afraid but he would do anything for his job.

"**Only because you told her I would talk to her!"** The man stepped back as the old man, still in his boxers, stepped towards him eyes blazing and teeth slightly bared.

"**Yes I-I'm sorry! I was just~"** the man continued being forced back by Jiraiya.

"**He was thinking that you would want to talk to me because he knew you would want to know EVERYTHING that I did to your dear friend."** A female voice cut in. Causing both men to stop and look towards the voice. What Jiraiya saw was a busty young looking woman who had platinum blond hair and light brown fiery eyes. They both stared before they looked at each other. The only thing that Jiraiya said to the doctor next was:

"**You may leave now."** And that was all it took before the doctor quickly made his exit. And as the front door slid shut, the living room door shut as well.

--- --- ---

The two sat silently, Jiraiya had brought out some Honey sake for Tsunade, and she was happily downing it quite fast. He watched her pour her sixth cup not even bothered that he wouldn't have one of his finest sake's for awhile. Tsunade, feeling his eyes upon her the entire time finally got fed up with the quiet.

"**For a man who was so eager to get to the seal, you aren't asking me a lot of questions."** She said as she tilted her head back and downed another glass. A knowing smile graced Jiraiya face.

"**And for a Timber bear, you aren't what I would have imagined you looking."** Tsunade stopped, her head was tilted back ready to down her ninth cup. She looked over at Jiraiya over her cup. She placed it down, without drinking the sake.

"**So you know."** She stated resting her elbows on the table, entwined her fingers together and placing them in front of her mouth. Her light brown eyes reflected Jiraiya's figure.

"**Yes."** He said still staring at her.

"**So that would mean you have figured away to eat the fruit without becoming sick."** The look she got from the aging man made her stare at him. **"Have you pain?"** her eyes suddenly becoming wider.

"**Yes, it seems every month, it happens once." **

Tsunade bit her bottom lip slightly as she thought.

"**I had thought that the fruit was different on each island… Could you explain what happens exactly?"** but Jiraiya shook his head.

"**I'm sorry but we have gotten off track."** He began. **"My concern is with Iruka not with the fruit."** Jiraiya finished watching the busty woman sigh heavily.

"**I see, alright."** She took the nearly forgotten sake cup and down the substance before placing the cup down with a little bit more force than needed.

--- --- ---

"**Iruka has several sever injuries to his spine, tail, chest, and his left flipper. Not to mention the venom that is spreading and to top it all off, he is bruised nearly all over his body."** Explained the platinum blond woman who was slightly tipsy from the second bottle of sake Jiraiya had provided. Jiraiya was intently listening what she was saying and by the frown that marred his face at the moment he wasn't liking what he was hearing.

"**So how long will it take for him to become able to move about?"** asked Jiraiya resting his cheek in the palm of his hand.

"**Well it all depends on him really."** The young looking woman said as she looked at the half empty bottle of sake. "**He has some problems with his blood too."** This caught Jiraiya off guard.

"**What do you mean?"** he said now looking at the woman with concerned eyes. She took a swig from the bottle and put it down.

"**What I mean is, his blood can pause the effect of the poison of those tunnel snakes."** She began knowing if she didn't continue soon, Jiraiya would become agitated. **"That means he is one of the few that were changed first."** The way that the 70 year old man was looking at her made her sigh. **"You see, the fruits on this island are changing, just like the island itself."** She explained getting a look of understanding. "**Yet their change is more suddle. He ate the fruit when he was a pup I am sirrten, and changed."** She rolled the liquid in the bottle slightly. **"I'm sure you saw it…"** Jiraiya looked down sadly.

"**No, I wouldn't know how his process went, he went missing for three years and when he finally came back he changed the very first time in front of me."** He looked up to see Tsunade listening intently. It appeared that the amount of sake was not effecting her like it would a normal person. Her eyes were clear her face was soft and knowing.

"**Well… Like I said, the fruit has changed. I might linger on this island before heading back to mine. I want to know what happened to Iruka when he ate the fruit and disappeared." **

Then suddenly something struck Jiraiya. He stood up.

"**Tsunade, can you speak dolphin?****"** asked a smiling Jiraiya to a baffled Tsunade.

--- --- ---

Meanwhile, in the back of Jiraiya's house, in the patio, a bandaged seal lay alone on a soft cushioned mattress. A small pond, not too far from the seal, suddenly bubbled slightly and two small furry heads peaked over the water's surface. They looked around before spotting who they were looking for and they quickly made their way towards him by using a ramp that lead from the pond to the patio. Their loud barking was not heard by the other seal.

His chest barely rose and fell, his entire torso to tail was practically wrapped and his eyes were bandaged. The wound on his cheek was swollen and seeping but it wasn't covered. Two tubes were coming from his nose and from his mouth, one was for air and the other was for liquid foods. The two seal pups stayed close together.

Suddenly a seal pup fur slipped from the shoulders of a six year old boy, his hair was short and spiky, his skin was a dark tan color as well. And for a six year old he was slightly built. Yet he still had baby fat upon his body which made him look cuter then it should have. Upon his cheeks were two red triangles, a single top baby tooth was exposed and it appeared to be very sharp. The other seal who stayed in his pup form was blond with bright blue eyes and scar marks upon his seal pups face, right where whiskers would be if you drew them on. The dark haired little boy reached a hand out and carefully stroked a patch of exposed fur with his pointer finger. He looked over at the other seal who seemed sick to his stomach.

"**It's okay!"** he tried cheering his buddy up, **"Iruka will be fine, he's done more challenging stuff before!"** the seal put was looking at him with blank eyes but his words sunk in and a happy bark echoed through the backyard, the sound also attracted the attention of three people who were walking up towards Jiraiya's house from the back.

--- --- ---

The blond seal pup had nestled up close to Iruka while the dark haired boy sat on a warm rock, not bothering to put clothes on. He didn't feel it was necessary for it was a privet place so no one could see them from here. So when a breeze washed over him and he smelt three very close human smells, he became defensive.

He stood on the rock, his eyes locked onto the area where the breeze had carried the scent to him. He growled as he heard voices.

"**I don' see why I had to come." **A bored, young, tone exclaimed.

"**Because out of all Sasuke's friends he chose you to come with him… So I thought you would want to see who saved him."** Said another male voice, much older than the first.

"**So a seal saved his life, what is so special about that seal anyway?" **

The dark haired six year old bristled at that and bared his teeth, his brown eyes flashed angrily.

"**Ma, be more respectful. I bet if you were to fall into a pool of water and was about to die you would want someone to save you."** The man must have made a motion to cause the other to not respond, or the younger was just agitated by the man's response.

The six year old skillfully slipped over the rocks with grace of a cat, he peaked from a tree and watched as an older man with silvery white hair, a mask on and a patch over his pulled up a young boy, maybe nine years old, his hair also was spiked but much more than the other, and his hair was black, skin was pale and he wore a heavy trench coat that covered half his face and upon his eyes were strangely shaped sunglasses. The third person who showed himself was not a person at all but a pug, with a bandana on it with a family crest.

And as the three journeyed closer the boy watched and climbed the tree so when they went to pass he would stop them. His opportunity was given but the dog smelt him too and warned his owner of his arrival.

_**-Master, from the tree!-**_ the dog barked and the two humans stopped instantly. The small boy leapt down and landed on his feet before standing and glaring at the two. He stood in their way.

"**Why are you trespassing!"** he snarled baring his teeth at them.

"**Ma, Ma!" **said the white haired man raising his hands in defensive manner**. "We didn't mean any har~"**

"**This is ****grampapa's property, you shouldn't be here!****"** cut in the boy. Meanwhile the other black haired boy just stared, his glasses flashed and reflected the image of the younger boy in front of him. **"Leave at once!"** this time the older man frowned or what seemed to be a frown. The boy couldn't tell because of the mask covering half his face.

"**Now all we want is to see the seal, Iruka I believe his name was, who saved my god-son's life."** The man said as he began to walk towards the boy, the pug in front of his master pushing the boy back so that they could enter the backyard completely. The younger boy had no choice but to back up for the dog was bristled, baring his teeth and his eyes were giving off warning signs.

Panic was bottled up inside the boy when he couldn't push the other three out, he turned briskly and darted towards Iruka and the other seal pup, who woke with a start when the other seal pup came crashing over and talking to him.

"**Naruto, there are strange men in ****grampapa's property!****"** he wailed which started the blond seal pup completely. Without thinking the blond seal pup charged towards the pug who came out first. The pug jumped back from the sudden face to face encounter with an outraged seal pup who wailed and barked at him constantly. With all the noise it interrupted the two people in the house who had no idea that the seal pups were out there and the others.

Jiraiya was the first to get to his feet and go lumbering down the hall to the patio, closely followed by Tsunade. When Jiraiya slid open the back door to his house with a slam he was outraged when he saw a freaked out six year old, and an angry blond seal pup who was being held in away, by the older man, that he couldn't bite him. Tsunade could suddenly feel the rage coming off of Jiraiya in waves. It reminded her of her parent when someone tried to take her away. She blinked and watched at the older man stormed over to the two other guys and the dog yelling on the top of his lungs.

"**What the HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"** he roared making Tsunade flinch and step back and making the seal pup stop struggling. Everyone froze in their spots. The two others with their dogs sweat dropped at the scene the older man had walked in on.

"**Put that SEAL PUP DOWN!"** he continued as he got closer, eyes blazing. When the silver haired man finally put the pup down Jiraiya was in his face when he stood back up. The blond seal pup hurried off back over to the six year old boy who was cowerding behind the bandaged Iruka**. ****"If Iruka had seen you holding Naruto like that he would have never forgiven you."**

"**Why should I need a seal's forgiveness? Is what the town's folk in Peiry true**?" the silver haired man asked. Jiraiya glared at him.

"**And what are the Peiry folk saying these days?"** he asked dangerously.

"**That the Natsuin Island has a curse on it."** Stated the silver haired man. **"Like all the rest of the island that are around these parts."**

Jiraiya tisked. **"Those folks don't know what they're talking about."**

"**Do they?"** asked the silver haired man. **"I mean I've been here for nearly a month now and I have heard some weird stuff lately that the people who stay here are saying."** Tsunade could tell that the older man was becoming very agitated so she stepped in quickly.

"**I don't care who you are, kid, but I thought I you came here to see Iruka not to find out about a rumor."** She said in a very stern voice.

By this time, the black haired boy had inched himself towards the other boy who was now watching Iruka. The black haired boy's glasses flashed and he seemed to roam over the other boy's body.

"**Why are you naked?"** the other boy was not expecting it and let out a strange bark. Which startled everyone into looking over at him.

"**Kiba… You're here too."** The six year old boy looked at him quickly and nodded.

"**Ah yea I… Mama said that Iruka had saved another person but came out very injured… She said I should come over and see how he was doing."** A smile slipped upon Tsunade's face as she realized how important this seal really was to the island. Jiraiya sighed.

"**Alright, it seems a lot of people,"** he trailed off as he noticed there were animals in the mix too. **"And animals who have come to check on Iruka."** He sighed again stepped back from the silver haired man and went over to Kiba, pulled off his robe he had pulled on and plopped it over Kiba who gave a yelp from the heavy weight suddenly upon him. He motioned everyone to come forward. **"Come and sit."** Tsunade sat beside Jiraiya. Kiba sat on the other side of Jiraiya and Naruto who was still in his seal form, wedged himself into the lap of his grandpapa while the black haired boy sat VERY close to Kiba, who squirmed at how close the other was to him. And the silver haired man sat on the opposite side of Jiraiya so he could look over the body of the mangled seal.

"**Where to begin… Ah okay, so as I was talking to ****Tsunade, she said that it will take a month for him to recover completely.****"** He then looked at the silver haired man. **"She also said that your god-son will not be effected by the snakes poison, but he will have a scar on his shoulder from where it bit him…"**

--- --- ---

Two hours later and Jiraiya had explained everything, gone over questions that anyone had and fed Iruka. And by the time everyone started to clear out, he was left with Tsunade and Kakashi who was looking over Iruka. Expecting him to get up and move but there was no movement.

Tsunade was very still, asked no questions and she seemed to be watching Kakashi and the black haired boy very closely. She had scooped up something quickly when she went to sit down and she hid it in a pouch that was on her belt.

When everyone left except for the six year old and Naruto she confronted Jiraiya.

"**Jiraiya, I need to speak with you about those three."** She said softly so the two seal pups wouldn't hear anything. **"They are suspicious, and they seem too know too much."** Jiraiya looked at her.

"**I know…"** he stated.

"**Be more careful."** She said getting very close to him, pushing something into his pocket. **"Gather the people of this island, speak to them. They have to know that this has to be kept a secret or I fear that something terrible will happen."** Jiraiya nodded and Tsunade stepped back before walking out of the house leaving Jiraiya alone. He turned around and noticed that Naruto had shifted into his human form and Kiba and him where romping around playfully but to loud so that they would let Iruka sleep.

The old man sighed before fingering what the blond woman had stuffed into his pocket. A frown marred his face again when he felt soft fur. Kiba had not been so secretive about hiding his fur… The concern for Iruka was higher than the secret to him… and Jiraiya knew that.

**Kitten:** _OMG this is MUCH more then I had thought I would write! I said 20 pages but it is 25 pages! I hope I get a lot of reviews for doing this much! Trust me, next chapter will be a little fluffy! ^^ Please review my story don't just fave it! The more reviews I receive the more I will write!_

_**Next Chapter: **__To Hide Your Skin _


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